Surveiller et Punir

security cameraTwo great quotations in Ken MacLeod’s latest post on Orwell and the surveillance state:

From Kirstie Ball: “the standard sociological definition of surveillance coincides with the standard organization theory definition of management.”

From Teresa Neilsen Hayden (about Photoshop): “The tools of dictators! In the hands of the people!”

3 Responses to Surveiller et Punir

  1. Anon73 May 9, 2009 at 5:35 pm #

    I always thought Tolkien was oddly prophetic with the “silent watchers filled with malice” in Lord of the Rings. I think of those every time I notice these gargoyles silently perched by a supermarket or road stop.

  2. Anna Morgenstern May 9, 2009 at 7:06 pm #

    Steve Mann came up with the term Sousveillance to describe people watching Big Brother.

  3. MBH May 9, 2009 at 8:11 pm #

    I really love that first quote. It’s awkward–at best–to think of management as anything other than a personal quality regarding personal affairs. Once you broaden management to reference controlling/supervising other persons, management starts to look like parenting.

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